Apple French Toast Bake

Name: Apple Cinnamon Brioche French Toast Casserole Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2-3 large apples (diced, then sliced); 2 tbsp butter; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1 tbsp cinnamon; 4 large eggs; 1 1/2 cups milk or half and half; 1 tbsp cinnamon; 1 tbsp vanilla extract; 1 loaf brioche bread (cubed)

TL; DR Summary - Apple French Toast Bake

👩🏼‍🍳 Bake Level: Easy/Beginner

⏱️ Bake Time: 25-30 minutes

📖 Dietary Info: Dairy, gluten, egg

😋 Taste: Creamy, custardy, cinnamon, sugary

💖 Why You'll Love: This is a no frills, super easy recipe that is great for breakfast any day of the week. It can be prepped ahead of time and stored overnight to bake the next day.

🍽️ Best Paired With: My favorite ways to serve this french toast is with an easy green smoothie to round out the veggie and fruit intake, or you can sub in a high protein mudslide mocktail for a boost in protein.

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Trusted Tips and Important Reminders

Using fresh bread is great, but you could also use a day old brioche. The bread will absorb the egg and milk mixture regardless, but older bread will hold up better.

The french toast should be eggy and wet when it bakes, so be sure to cover all of the bread to make sure that the end result yields a moist and egg texture rather than drying out.

When prepping the apples, dice them finely into small cubes so that they cook a little quicker and soften easier. To reduce the cooking time of the apples, you can cover the apples in the frying pan and lower the heat so the apple cubes do not burn.

The Main Ingredients

Ingredients to make an apple french toast bake.

Brioche - Using a buttery brioche is just such a great vessel for soaking up and egg and milk mixture.

Eggs - eggs are big part of making a french toast casserole as it helps with binding the ingredients, and gives it the french toast texture it needs.

Milk - you can also use almond milk!

Cinnamon - we're adding cinnamon to the egg mixture and to the apples

Apples - the best kinds of apples for this are honeycrisp, rubyfrost, gala, empire, envy, or any other variety that has a sweet and tart crunch when bitten into.

Butter - butter is used to sauté the apples and gives the entire dish a very buttery, creamy texture.

Simple Recipe Swaps and Substitutions

Bread: If you don't like brioche, you can swap for any type of bread including challah or a gluten-free bread of your choosing.

Milk: Opt for almond, oat, or another type of milk that you're used to consuming.

Sugar: You don't have to use the brown sugar if you'd prefer this recipe to be lower in sugar. However, you could use coconut sugar as the sugar adds flavor and helps the apples render down.

How to make an apple cinnamon brioche french toast bake

Step 1: Slice, then dice the apples into smaller diced pieces then add to a pan with melted butter on medium heat. Let the apples cook for a few minutes (3-4 minutes), then add in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Toss to combine and bring the flame to low. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, then set aside.

eggs mixed with vanilla, milk, and cinnamon

Step 2: In a medium mixing bowl or in a large measuring cup, combine together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon using a whisk, then set aside.

Step 3: Dice the brioche into cubes and toss into an oven safe baking dish. Then, pour the egg mixture all over the brioche, making sure all of the bread has been soaked and covered with the egg.

cinnamon apple brioche french toast bake

Step 4: Top the brioche with the sautéed apples and bake at 375º for 20 minutes.

Mistakes I've Made (so YOU don't have to!)

Do not use heavy cream! The heavy cream will not yield the same results that regular milk or even half and half would.

Do NOT forget to mix the bread around in the dish after the liquid is added so that all the sides of the cubed bread gets some of the liquid. Trust me, you don't want to take a bite into a dry, crusty piece of bread.

Watch the oven temp, all ovens vary by a few degrees, so be mindful and watch the french toast as it bakes so that it does not burn. If you get nervous about it burning, tent the casserole with aluminum foil for 15 minutes, then remove for the remaining bake time.

Apple French Toast Bake FAQs

What else can I add to this apple french toast to make it even fancier?

You can drizzle melted chocolate, add some candied pecans or almonds, or smother it with nutella.

How does this french toast bake work as a meal prep or part of meal planning?

I like to cut the French toast into squares, then add those squares into individualized containers. That way they are prepared and ready to go if I need to warm them up in the office, or as I work from my desk at home.

What kind of apples should I use for this apple french toast bake?

Believe it or not, there are apples that are meant to be used in baking, and there are apples that are meant to simply snack on. Apples that I recommend to use for this include Honeycrisp, Fuji, Macintosh, or Granny Smith.

My french toast came out very dry, what can I do to fix this?

As I mentioned earlier, you want to ensure that ALLLLLL of the bread has been touched by the milk and egg custard. If you use a spatula to press the bread into the liquid, that will alleviate this issue. Another thing to note is how big the bread cubes are.